Tag: Africa
The living fashion history of the Kaapse Klopse
For over a century, the streets of Cape Town have become an explosion of song, dance and colourful costumes on the 2nd of January. Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Afrikaans for ‘Second New Year’) is an annual minstrel festival originating from a...
Our top 9 fashion moments of 2024
As 2024 draws to an end, we have compiled a list of our top 9 fashion moments of the year. Some are moments we curated for you, others are events that we believe are transformative and progressive for fashion. And...
What’s the oldest item in your wardrobe? We asked 6 fashion enthusiasts
Our wardrobes are filled with memories and meaning. There are clothes that you bought with your first pay check, those that were handed down from family or the ones that you bought on a special trip. We asked six people...
Ngande Textiles uses African batik to shed new light on ancient practices
In less than a month of operation, Ngande Textiles accumulated hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram, sharing the process behind the creation of one-of-a-kind African batik textiles. Founded in June this year by US-based Cameroonian designer, textile maker, educator,...
Threads of Africa: A Tapestry of Tradition and Modernity
African fashion is an expression and celebration of the continent’s identities, cultures and creativity. At the recent Africa Textile Talks in Cape Town, Merchants on Long, one of the event sponsors, collaborated with Twyg to create a fashion installation to...
Decolonising fashion: Lesiba Mabitsela’s journey to Afro-sustainability
Lesiba Mabitsela is a South African designer, thinker, gentle agitator and researcher whose output is characterised by a deep respect for the world and those who inhabit it. He is also the co-founder of African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) and...
Cape Town hosts slow African fashion at 3rd edition of Confections x Collections
The third annual Confections x Collections fashion event presented by Mount Nelson, a Belmond hotel and curated by Twyg, will once again provide a unique platform for diverse, authentic African perspectives and sartorial storytelling. Taking place from 5 – 9...
Katush Nairobi presents its SS25 collection: Black Bird A Kanga | Obsidian Dawn
Katush, a fashion brand based in Nairobi, Kenya presents its SS25 collection, a tribute to creative director Katungulu Mwendwa’s hometown where her love for craftsmanship was first sparked in her grandmother’s workshop. This collection weaves together memories of long weekends...
Q&A: SOKO Kenya uses fashion as force for good
SOKO Kenya is much more than just a clothing factory. Situated in Kikambala, Kilifi in Kenya, SOKO offers cut, make and trim services in an eco-factory built from compressed earth. Producing high-quality clothing while providing living wage jobs, supporting people...
Shein is officially the biggest polluter in fast fashion. AI is making things worse
In 2023, the fast fashion giant Shein was everywhere. Crisscrossing the globe, airplanes ferried small packages of its ultra-cheap clothing from thousands of suppliers to tens of millions of customer mailboxes in 150 countries. Influencers’ “#sheinhaul” videos advertised the company’s trendy styles...
Mbali Baduza is bridging communities and generations for a just transition
Having conversations that enlarge understanding and establish common ground is one way a climate activist uses to push for greater collective action.
Back to earth with African mudcloth
Woven into African fashion is cleansing; confronting the stains of colonisation, erasure, and oppression. It’s a messy process and perhaps fitting that this is a story that can be revealed through mudcloth.
Kaross embroiderers mend economic divides in rural Limpopo
In 1989, five women sat around a kitchen table embroidering cloth on a rural Limpopo citrus farm. Over three decades later, impact-driven business Kaross employs 1,000 embroiderers who work from home and create uniquely South African embroidered products while mending...